When a user of a hearing assistance device, such as a hearing aid, gets a new device, the dispenser or audiologist can make some educated guesses as to settings based on the user's hearing. Improvements to the settings are possible if the sound environment commonly experienced by the user is known. However, such information takes time to acquire and is not generally immediately known about the user. Different users may be exposed to very different sound environments, and settings may be changed for better performance.
Some attempts at logging sound environments have been done which can enhance the ability of a dispenser or audiologist to improve device settings. However, advanced, highly programmable hearing assistance devices may provide a number of modes which can provide unpredictable performance depending on the particular hearing assistance device and the environment the device is exposed to.
What is needed in the art is an improved system for assisting hearing device parameter selection based on the sound environment commonly experienced by a particular user. The system should be straightforward for a dispenser or audiologist to use and should provide support for setting decisions in advanced, highly programmable devices.